Bonk Breaker Energy Chews

Of the many jokes I make at my expense, one of those is how aging just isn’t working out for me. Of course, I’m not alone in this. We are walking, talking, tweeting examples of the Second Law of Thermodynamics in action. One of the realizations I’ve been forced to recognize is that my stomach has become more finicky about what I eat on long and/or intense rides, especially if there’s some altitude involved. Take me to 9000 feet and my stomach will reject dishes as benign as peanut butter and jelly.

So while many riders I know are busily dashing up recipes from “The Feedzone Portables” cookbook, I’ve been forced to stick with gels and chews. To the degree that my actions can be called stubborn, I plead that my stomach holds me hostage.

I’ve been a fan of chews as a way to deliver tasty calories that my body can process quickly and am a loyal consumer of chews from both Clif and GU. Recently I ran across the new chews from Bonk Breaker and decided to give them a try.

A 2.15-ounce (60 gram) pouch includes eight chews, good for 180 calories. They come in two flavors, orange/tangerine and strawberry. The strawberry is perhaps the most realistic presentation of strawberry flavor outside the strawberry Clif Shot, if perhaps a bit sweeter than the real thing. The orange/tangerine is even better and gives that unbelievable tang known to cause tangerine fans to squint with delight.

For those of you who need an extra kick, energy-wise, be advised that the strawberry chews stir in 50mg of caffeine for an added zing in your pedal stroke.

For those of you with sensitivities to certain ingredients, you’ll be interested to know that these are gluten-free, soy-free and dairy-free; they feature no GMO ingredients, either.

I’ve been using these for a couple of months now and have decided to make them a permanent addition to my menu. My reasons are simple. First, they are easy to get out of the package. To accomplish this, they are coated in carnauba wax, which keeps them from sticking together, but also adds an ingredient that contains no energy content. That might be a problem if I were trying to eat these while holding my heart rate at threshold, but I’m not. The second feature of these chews that I like is that like the Bonk Breaker bars, they have a higher moisture content, making them easier to chew, swallow and digest. There’s not another chew I’ve tried that goes down as quickly and easily. And it may be that that carnauba wax is part of why they don’t stick to my teeth, which is yet another reason to like them.

A pack goes for $2.49, or you can buy a whole box (16 pouches) for $36. Learn more here.

11 comments

We have pretty much a refined sugar free diet. So, it is hard for me to eat energy chews and really hard to consume any kind of gel, especially Clif shots. Just too sweet for me, and they make me really thirsty. So, Clif bars for sit down breaks, and Clif minis while on longer rides.

Hi Tom – you bet – our Chews are free of any nut allergens and made with all natural ingredients. You can visit our website for a full nutritional breakdown. http://bonkbreaker.com/type/energy-chews/
Enjoy! Chris & Jason, Owners

You had me at “they don’t stick to my teeth”! That’s the reason I have a box of Cliff shot-blox sitting in my cabinet but which do not make their way into my jersey pocket. I HATE having to get them unstuck from my molars while riding.

Thanks so much giving our Chews the test run guys! We set out with the ambition of creating a Ferrari quality Chew that is different from everything else on the market in flavor, quality of all-natural ingredients, and of course texture. One other important thing to note: a full packet of our Chews (2 servings / 8 chews) contains 240mg of electrolytes so Chews serve a few critical nutritional functions to go along with some killer flavors! #fuelyourjourney
Cheers,
Chris & Jason, Owners
Bonk Breaker Nutrition

I am glad to hear that they are GMO free, but are the strawberries organic? Strawberries are consistently in the top 5 foods for pesticide residue if they aren’t OG. It is one of the fruits/veggies that I will never eat unless organic.